Medical articles today

An article published Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet reports that new research based on a meta-analysis of thirteen statin trials has shown that use of statins increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 9 percent. Still, the absolute risk is low, especially when compared with the beneficial effect that statins have on reducing coronary events. The article is the work of Professor Naveed Satar and Dr David Preiss, Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, University of Glasgow, UK, and colleagues. Trials of statin therapy on the risk of development of diabetes in patients given statins have had inconsistent findings.

New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) suggests that the ability of right side of the heart to pump blood may be an indication of the risk of death to heart-failure patients whose condition is caused by low function by the left side of their heart. The ability of the two chambers of the heart, the left and right ventricles, to pump blood is described as ejection fraction. Healthy individuals typically have ejection fractions between 50 and 65 percent in both chambers. In findings reported in January in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, researchers at UAB say that low right-ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) increased the risk of death in patients with systolic heart failure - heart failure associated with low left-ventricular ejection fraction.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists have reported new reasons for choosing "heart-healthy" oats at the grocery store. Nutritionist Mohsen Meydani, director of the Vascular Biology Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Mass., led the research on the oat compounds, called avenanthramides. Meydani previously has shown that phenolic antioxidants in oats obstruct the ability of blood cells to stick to artery walls. Chronic inflammation inside the arterial wall is part of the process that eventually leads to a disorder known as atherosclerosis. Meydani and colleagues have reported findings that suggest the avenanthramides of oats decrease the expression of inflammatory molecules.

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) announced an educational event for the public highlighting the gender and racial disparities in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The "Know What Counts" educational program titled, "The Path to Health Care Equity: Identifying and Solving Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Health Care in the New Century, " will feature a distinguished physician panel, along with a keynote address by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. The event, which is co-sponsored by the Association of Black Cardiologists, Mended Hearts, and WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, will be held Tuesday, March 2, from noon to 3 p.

As more Americans fall victim to cardiovascular disease each year, and more and more drug treatments are available, pharmacists can play an increasingly critical role in medication choices and treatment plans. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' (ASHP) new book, Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy: A Point-of-Care Guide, by Michael Crouch, Pharm.D., FASHP, BCPS, is being released in February, to coincide with American Heart Month. This concise reference provides pharmacists and students with a quick way to access necessary clinical and therapeutic information that has the potential to improve the lives of patients suffering from cardiovascular disease.

Drugs that target the way cells convert nutrients into energy could offer new approaches to treating a range of conditions including heart attack and stroke. Using a new way to screen for potential drugs, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has identified several FDA-approved agents, including an over-the-counter anti-nausea drug, that can shift cellular energy metabolism processes in animals. Their findings, being published online in Nature Biotechnology, may open the door to new therapeutic strategies for several serious health problems. "Shifts in cells' energy production pathways take place naturally during development and in response to demanding activities - like sprinting versus long-distance running.